Paving the way: Let creativity unite people

Around 120 students pen down their thoughts regarding Karachi

KARACHI: To promote peace and tolerance, Pakistan-American Cultural Centre (PACC) and the Karachi Youth Initiative collaborated to organise a two-day workshop, titled 'Fostering Peace and Tolerance through Creative Expression'.

The workshop, held at PACC's auditorium, brought together students from various backgrounds and gave them a platform to express their thoughts regarding Karachi. As many as 120 students from 20 schools across the city participated in the event.

On Friday, the second day of the workshop focused on letting students pen their thoughts detailing their love for their city in the form of a story, poetry or open letters. The students were also given pre-selected topics including 'A love letter to Karachi', 'Keep calm and give peace a chance', 'Be the change you want to see', 'An unforgettable dream', 'Privileges and responsibilities of a peaceful society', 'Our flag, a symbol of national unity', and 'Sports: An agent of peace' among others.

The students were given 45 minutes to share their thoughts and feelings and their works were later judged by story-teller Amra Alam.

Speaking about students' works, Alam said they produced "strong piece of writings".  According to Alam, the creative expressions focused more on the darker side of things rather than depicting humour. She also remarked that poems by students seemed more like prose and their stories "look and read like articles".

PACC English Language Programme director Madiha Rehman said that "Karachi Youth Initiative is doing a tremendous job for peace building. PACC is a partner organisation and it is our aim to promote tolerance through education."

She added, "We realised that the youth is doing its part in playing a positive role and they should be heard and given a chance. The stories they narrated prove this."

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2016.